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Town of Torredonjimeno (Andalusia, Spain)

Jaen Province

2:3
image by Wikipedia User:Xavigivax, 12 Jul 2009

Introduction
Description
Coat of Arms

See also:

Introduction

The municipality of Torredonjimeno (14,138 inhabitants in 2008; 15,760 ha) is located 15 km west of Jaén.

Located on flat, fertile soil, the site of Torredonjimeno has been settled all along the history since the Paelolithic. The oldest available sources refer to an Iberic settlement called Tosiria (recalled in the current name of the inhabitants, "tosirianos"), superseded by the Roman colony known as Colonia Augusta Gémina. A Wisigoth treasure found in 1926 confirms that Torredonjimeno was still inhabited during the Greater Invasions; the Byzantine-like votive crowns and crosses forming the treasure, most probably designed in a Seville workshop in the 7th century, have been scattered among different museums in Madrid, Barcelona and Cordóba, not to mention the pieces that have been destroyed, stolen or lost.

Incorporated to the neighbouring town of Martos in the Moorish period, Torredonjimeno watched the crossroads of the roads to Jaén and Cordóba. In 1224, the town was reconquerred and incorporated to the Kingdom of Castile; the next year, King Fernando III the Saint transferred the town to the Military Order of Calatrava, commissionned to resettle and watch the new border of the kingdom. The name of the town seems to date from this period, "Torre" (tower) refering to a military enclave and "Donjimeno" refering to one of the first commander of the fortress, Don Ximeno de Raya. In 1275, the Archbishop of Toledo and Infant of Aragon, Sancho, the son of King James the Conqueror, was caught in a border skirmish with Moorish troops sent by Muhammad II, King of Granada. Captured near Torredonjimeno, the Infant was the source of a quarrel between the Nasrids from Granada and their allies from Morocco; to solve the problem, a knight killed the Infant and offerred the head to the Moroccans and the right hand, bearing the bishop's ring, to the Nasrids. Since then, the place has been known as "Fuente de Don Sancho" (Don Sancho's Fountain). At the end of the 14th century, Torredonjimeno was protected by a comprehensive system of fortifications still recalled by the modern toponymy of the town. This prevented a Muslim attack in 1471; captured during the siege, the two daughters of the commander of the fortress, Diego Fernández de Martos, were jailed in Granada; one of them abjured the Christian faith, but her sister, together with her servant, refused to do so. Eventually martyred, the two maidens were never officially canonized but are locally venerated as Sts. Juana and María, aka the "Santas Toxirianas." In a subsequent battle, the Christian troops commanded by Diego López Pacheco, Marquis of Villena and First Majordomo of Queen Isobel I, defeated the Moors.

In 1558, Princess Joanna of Austria granted to Torredonjimeno independence from Martos, the title of "villa" and several privileges; in 1911, King Alfonso XIII granted the title of "ciudad" to the town. In 2005, the Culture Council of the Government of Andalusia proclaimed Torredonjimeno a "Good of Cultural Interest," recognizing the historic and urbanistic significance of the town.

Sources: Municipal website, History of the two Santas Toxirianas

Ivan Sache, 12 Jul 2009

Description

The flag and anthem of Torredonjimeno were approved by the Municipal Council on 28 September 2006 and submitted on 17 October 2006 to the General Directorate of Local Administration, which confirmed them by Decree on 13 November 2006, published in the Andalusian official gazette (Boletín Oficial de la Junta de Andalucía, BOJA) No. 231 on 29 November 2006.

The relevant parts of the Decree are the following:

Flag: Rectangular panel in proportions 2:3, vertically divided in the middle, red at hoist and white at fly. A green stripe fimbriated white from the lower left to the upper right corner.

- Anthem: [...]" The chorus of the anthem starts with "Viva nuestra bandera" (Long live our flag).

The symbols should be registered on the Andalusian Register of Local Entities, with their official written description and graphics (as originally submitted, but unfortunately not apprended to the Decree).

Source: BOJA No. 231, pp. 27-28, 29 Nov 2006

Ivan Sache, 12 Jul 2009